Navigating the blueprints of secure coding: A construction analogy
Did you know that 67% of developers admit to shipping code with vulnerabilities? Imagine a team of construction workers tasked with building a house. They have all the materials and tools they need, but they are struggling to follow the blueprints and building codes. As a result, they are making mistakes and the house is not being built to code.
This analogy can be used to illustrate the challenges that developers face when trying to practice secure coding. Just as construction workers need to follow blueprints and building codes to ensure that their houses are safe, developers need to follow secure coding practices to ensure that their software applications are secure.
There are a number of reasons why secure coding can be challenging. These include:
- A lack of awareness of secure coding practices. 86% of developers state they find it challenging to practice secure coding.
- A lack of time and resources. 24% of respondents in our survey stated ‘not enough time’ is the biggest impediment to integrating secure code.
- The complexity of secure coding. 63% of developers rate writing secure code that is free from vulnerabilities to be difficult.
- Over reliance upon tools. 57% of application security teams are utilizing six or more tools to discover vulnerabilities during the DevSecOps lifecycle. (GitLab, 2023)
However, despite the challenges, secure coding is essential. By following secure coding practices, developers can help to protect their applications from vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Just as a well-built house is less likely to collapse, a well-coded application is less likely to be hacked.
Here are a few tips for developers who want to improve their secure coding practices:
- Get training and education on secure coding. There are a number of resources available to help developers learn about secure coding practices.
- Use static analysis tools to identify vulnerabilities in code. Static analysis tools can help to identify vulnerabilities in code that may be difficult to find manually.
- Write code that is easy to review and understand. Code that is easy to review and understand is more likely to be secure code.
- Test code thoroughly. Testing code can help to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Interested in learning more? Unlock the secrets to developing an agile secure coding strategy with our secure code learning blueprint.
By following secure coding practices, developers can help to protect their applications from vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Just as a well-built house is less likely to collapse, a well-coded application is less likely to be hacked.
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demo
Dave Karp is the VP of Solution Engineering and Technical Alliances at Secure Code Warrior.
Did you know that 67% of developers admit to shipping code with vulnerabilities? Imagine a team of construction workers tasked with building a house. They have all the materials and tools they need, but they are struggling to follow the blueprints and building codes. As a result, they are making mistakes and the house is not being built to code.
This analogy can be used to illustrate the challenges that developers face when trying to practice secure coding. Just as construction workers need to follow blueprints and building codes to ensure that their houses are safe, developers need to follow secure coding practices to ensure that their software applications are secure.
There are a number of reasons why secure coding can be challenging. These include:
- A lack of awareness of secure coding practices. 86% of developers state they find it challenging to practice secure coding.
- A lack of time and resources. 24% of respondents in our survey stated ‘not enough time’ is the biggest impediment to integrating secure code.
- The complexity of secure coding. 63% of developers rate writing secure code that is free from vulnerabilities to be difficult.
- Over reliance upon tools. 57% of application security teams are utilizing six or more tools to discover vulnerabilities during the DevSecOps lifecycle. (GitLab, 2023)
However, despite the challenges, secure coding is essential. By following secure coding practices, developers can help to protect their applications from vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Just as a well-built house is less likely to collapse, a well-coded application is less likely to be hacked.
Here are a few tips for developers who want to improve their secure coding practices:
- Get training and education on secure coding. There are a number of resources available to help developers learn about secure coding practices.
- Use static analysis tools to identify vulnerabilities in code. Static analysis tools can help to identify vulnerabilities in code that may be difficult to find manually.
- Write code that is easy to review and understand. Code that is easy to review and understand is more likely to be secure code.
- Test code thoroughly. Testing code can help to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Interested in learning more? Unlock the secrets to developing an agile secure coding strategy with our secure code learning blueprint.
Did you know that 67% of developers admit to shipping code with vulnerabilities? Imagine a team of construction workers tasked with building a house. They have all the materials and tools they need, but they are struggling to follow the blueprints and building codes. As a result, they are making mistakes and the house is not being built to code.
This analogy can be used to illustrate the challenges that developers face when trying to practice secure coding. Just as construction workers need to follow blueprints and building codes to ensure that their houses are safe, developers need to follow secure coding practices to ensure that their software applications are secure.
There are a number of reasons why secure coding can be challenging. These include:
- A lack of awareness of secure coding practices. 86% of developers state they find it challenging to practice secure coding.
- A lack of time and resources. 24% of respondents in our survey stated ‘not enough time’ is the biggest impediment to integrating secure code.
- The complexity of secure coding. 63% of developers rate writing secure code that is free from vulnerabilities to be difficult.
- Over reliance upon tools. 57% of application security teams are utilizing six or more tools to discover vulnerabilities during the DevSecOps lifecycle. (GitLab, 2023)
However, despite the challenges, secure coding is essential. By following secure coding practices, developers can help to protect their applications from vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Just as a well-built house is less likely to collapse, a well-coded application is less likely to be hacked.
Here are a few tips for developers who want to improve their secure coding practices:
- Get training and education on secure coding. There are a number of resources available to help developers learn about secure coding practices.
- Use static analysis tools to identify vulnerabilities in code. Static analysis tools can help to identify vulnerabilities in code that may be difficult to find manually.
- Write code that is easy to review and understand. Code that is easy to review and understand is more likely to be secure code.
- Test code thoroughly. Testing code can help to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Interested in learning more? Unlock the secrets to developing an agile secure coding strategy with our secure code learning blueprint.
Click on the link below and download the PDF of this resource.
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
View reportBook a demo
Dave Karp is the VP of Solution Engineering and Technical Alliances at Secure Code Warrior.
Did you know that 67% of developers admit to shipping code with vulnerabilities? Imagine a team of construction workers tasked with building a house. They have all the materials and tools they need, but they are struggling to follow the blueprints and building codes. As a result, they are making mistakes and the house is not being built to code.
This analogy can be used to illustrate the challenges that developers face when trying to practice secure coding. Just as construction workers need to follow blueprints and building codes to ensure that their houses are safe, developers need to follow secure coding practices to ensure that their software applications are secure.
There are a number of reasons why secure coding can be challenging. These include:
- A lack of awareness of secure coding practices. 86% of developers state they find it challenging to practice secure coding.
- A lack of time and resources. 24% of respondents in our survey stated ‘not enough time’ is the biggest impediment to integrating secure code.
- The complexity of secure coding. 63% of developers rate writing secure code that is free from vulnerabilities to be difficult.
- Over reliance upon tools. 57% of application security teams are utilizing six or more tools to discover vulnerabilities during the DevSecOps lifecycle. (GitLab, 2023)
However, despite the challenges, secure coding is essential. By following secure coding practices, developers can help to protect their applications from vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. Just as a well-built house is less likely to collapse, a well-coded application is less likely to be hacked.
Here are a few tips for developers who want to improve their secure coding practices:
- Get training and education on secure coding. There are a number of resources available to help developers learn about secure coding practices.
- Use static analysis tools to identify vulnerabilities in code. Static analysis tools can help to identify vulnerabilities in code that may be difficult to find manually.
- Write code that is easy to review and understand. Code that is easy to review and understand is more likely to be secure code.
- Test code thoroughly. Testing code can help to identify and fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Interested in learning more? Unlock the secrets to developing an agile secure coding strategy with our secure code learning blueprint.
Table of contents
Secure Code Warrior is here for your organization to help you secure code across the entire software development lifecycle and create a culture in which cybersecurity is top of mind. Whether you’re an AppSec Manager, Developer, CISO, or anyone involved in security, we can help your organization reduce risks associated with insecure code.
Book a demoDownloadResources to get you started
Trust Agent:AI - Secure and scale AI-Drive development
AI is writing code. Who’s governing it? With up to 50% of AI-generated code containing security weaknesses, managing AI risk is critical. Discover how SCW's Trust Agent: AI provides the real-time visibility, proactive governance, and targeted upskilling needed to scale AI-driven development securely.
The Power of OpenText Application Security + Secure Code Warrior
OpenText Application Security and Secure Code Warrior combine vulnerability detection with AI Software Governance and developer capability. Together, they help organizations reduce risk, strengthen secure coding practices, and confidently adopt AI-driven development.
Secure Code Warrior corporate overview
Secure Code Warrior is an AI Software Governance platform designed to enable organizations to safely adopt AI-driven development by bridging the gap between development velocity and enterprise security. The platform addresses the "Visibility Gap," where security teams often lack insights into shadow AI coding tools and the origins of production code.
Secure code training topics & content
Our industry-leading content is always evolving to fit the ever changing software development landscape with your role in mind. Topics covering everything from AI to XQuery Injection, offered for a variety of roles from Architects and Engineers to Product Managers and QA. Get a sneak peek of what our content catalog has to offer by topic and role.
Resources to get you started
Observe and Secure the ADLC: A Four-Point Framework for CISOs and Development Teams Using AI
While development teams look to make the most of GenAI’s undeniable benefits, we’d like to propose a four-point foundational framework that will allow security leaders to deploy AI coding tools and agents with a higher, more relevant standard of security best practices. It details exactly what enterprises can do to ensure safe, secure code development right now, and as agentic AI becomes an even bigger factor in the future.
